South Carolina Attorney General Says Craigslist Must Remove 'Obscene' Ads by Friday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina attorney general says Craigslist faces a deadline to remove what he considers obscene photos and solicitations for prostitution.

Attorney General Henry McMaster has given the Web site until 5 p.m. Friday to remove the material from the Internet classified ad site.

The San Francisco company did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment Friday.

Craigslist attorney Bart Daniel of Charleston told The Greenville News the site intends to work things out with the attorney general. He did not elaborate.

Craigslist said it would close its erotic services list and monitor ads on a new adult services list.

McMaster says he'll monitor the site's changes. He says if an appropriate Internet-related case comes up, company executives could be charged with aiding and abetting prostitution.

State attorneys general said Wednesday that Craigslist will pull its controversial "erotic services" section, following the arrest of a Boston medical student charged with murdering a masseuse he allegedly met on the classified ad site.

Pressure to remove the category ramped up this spring when Philip Markoff, 23, was charged with killing Julissa Brisman, 25, who advertised erotic massage services on Craigslist.

Click here for photos from the 'Craigslist Killer' case.

Authorities say Markoff lured Brisman, of New York City, to a luxury hotel room in Boston April 14, where he tried to rob her at gunpoint. He allegedly killed her when she fought back.

He has also been charged in two other similar hotel crimes against women he allegedly met on Craigslist — the attempted robbery of a Las Vegas stripper in Rhode Island and the armed robbery of another erotic masseuse in Boston.